Bob Mercer is able to note again that the latest voter registration figures look better for Republicans than Democrats. From any day in recent electoral history that you want to count, South Dakota Republicans have outperformed South Dakota Democrats in registering new party-affiliated voters.
| change since… | Republican | Democrat | Independent/ No Party Affiliation |
| Jul 2, 2018 % | 0.30% | 0.02% | 0.58% |
| Jul 2, 2018 # | 747 | 37 | 705 |
| Jan 2, 2018 % | 2.73% | –2.23% | 1.52% |
| Jan 2, 2018 # | 6,704 | –3573 | 1,835 |
| Aug 1, 2017 % | –0.63% | –7.07% | –1.28% |
| Aug 1, 2017 # | –1,604 | –11,904 | –1,591 |
| Nov 8, 2016 % | 0.04% | –8.40% | 3.27% |
| Nov 8, 2016 # | 100 | –14,341 | 3,880 |
| Aug 4, 2016 # | 2.66% | –7.34% | 9.44% |
| Aug 4, 2016 % | 6,526 | –12,388 | 10,568 |
| Jul 6, 2009 (Dem peak) % | 3.89% | –24.13% | [IND/NPA def changed… |
| Jul 6, 2009 (Dem peak) # | 9,441 | –49,733 | …numbers not comparable] |
The only happy Democratic read of the August voter registration report is that for the first month since October 2016, South Dakota gained Democrats. Those 37 new Democrats are 0.26% of the 14,378 voters we lost from November 8, 2016 through July 2, 2018. We still have 49,733 voters to replace to reach the peak strength we had in July 2009.
Our gain in numbers is dampened by our continued loss in percentage: Democrats dropped to 29.27% of South Dakota’s electorate. Republicans ticked up to 47.22%, and independents rose to 22.94%. Democrats have increased their percentage of the South Dakota electorate since October 2009.
Here in Brown County, the voter data suggest that if there was any surge of Democrats switching registration for the Republican primary to jam Dan Kaiser and keep Mark Milbrandt as “their” sheriff, it was a small and forgetful group:
| Date | GOP | LIB | DEM | CON | IND/ NPA |
OTH | inactive | active |
| 11/01/17 | 9,795 | 65 | 8,370 | 7 | 4,184 | 31 | 2,535 | 22,452 |
| 06/01/18 | 10,182 | 60 | 8,143 | 7 | 4,160 | 40 | 2,442 | 22,592 |
| 07/02/18 | 10,234 | 60 | 8,150 | 7 | 4,173 | 40 | 2,436 | 22,664 |
| 08/01/18 | 10,249 | 58 | 8,143 | 7 | 4,180 | 40 | 2,422 | 22,677 |
From November 1, 2017 (the last count before Kaiser announced his bid for sheriff) to June 1, 2018 (right before the primary) Brown County saw the Republican roll increase by 387 and the Democratic roll decrease by 227. The Pubs’ 4.0% in Brown County was notably larger than their statewide increase over that same period of 1.10%. Yet Brown County Dems lost registrants at a slower rate, –2.7%, than the statewide Dems, –3.5%. So proportionally speaking, even if every Dem we lost in Brown County was a sheriff’s race switcher, the GOP primary and the relative lack of items for Dems to vote on in June did not deflate the Dem roll as much as the spectacular GOP primary did statewide.
Beisdes, Milbrandt won by 1,340 votes, so any Democratic vote-switching to keep the status quo was superfluous… unless word of that Democratic switching got out and persuaded infamously partisan Republican primary voters that voting for a sheriff with bipartisan appeal was a good thing.
Since the primary, Brown County Republican registration has continued to climb. From June 1 to August 1, local Pubs added 67 voters (+0.7%, close to the statewide two-month GOP gain of 0.9%), while local Dems held steady (similar to statewide two-month Dem drop of 0.01%). If any of the 227 Dems we lost since November joined Mark Remily in signing up for the Milbrandt/Kaiser primary, they either forget to visit the auditor to reclaim their Democratic registration, or they were washed out by other Dems leaving the roll.
But if you are out there, Milbrandt Democrats, consider this your reminder: go see the auditor, and get back in the right party!
Those numbers are just numbers. From what I am hearing out there in the front lines, Republicans may be Republicans in name only this time around. I have been kind of surprised at the talk I hear from folks that I have known to have only voted Republican for years, are now fed up. Should be the making of an interesting election, unless the Russian show up…again. They are no stranger to South Dakota politics, so there is that.
The only way to increase voter participation is to inspire non-voters to pay closer attention to politics – via some kind of passionate message.
Voter registration drives need to change dramatically. “Step Up & Pay Attention” and “sh!t is getting too crazy for comfort” embody the most effective messaging to increase voter registration.
Our ‘be a Democrat’ message is just simply poor advertising strategy if the goal is to register more voters.
People need a fair amount of Howard Beale – no sugar coating – just multiple 100% negative characterizations about where American society is heading RIGHT NOW. IF they can be inspired to care enough to vote in national elections, only then can we hope to inspire them to vote in state elections.
No one ever registers to vote, or votes, unless they feel their society is not taking good enough care of its citizens and/or marketplace(s). It is only disappointment with society which inspires one to become a voter. Negative messaging is required to break people out of their non-voting comfort bubble and increase voter registration.
What truly breaks my heart is that rural state Dems reallysuperultra suck at that one particular thing (negative messaging).
So, no wonder the numbers are stagnant when they should be explosive. No guts, no glory.
I have made the case to bring people like off-paper felons back into the American political fold, to many SDDP leaders.
These people have FULLY repaid their debt to society, and yet they feel like people in politics don’t actually care about them. Many of them have been lied to about their right to vote, and it is SO FREAKING EASY to talk to them and express that you do actually care a whole lot about their lives their struggle, that they do indeed have the power to vote, and that our political family embraces them.
These are some of the lowest hanging fruit for increasing voter registration, and they are folks who truly want and deserve a deeper connection to society… but do you think ANYONE in the SDDP so much as shared a positive thought about the idea when it was presented? No. In fact, everyone looked scared at the prospect.
No guts, no glory – and in this case, no brains no brawn.
Way too many non voters see the Democratic party for what it is…..almost the same as the Republican party.
With the US democratic leadership being just fine with the latest supreme court pick after what was done with the last one why would anyone think this party is OK? Both of the party’s are in the pockets of the same people and when they reach an agreement on anything it is exactly what neither should be agreeing to.
Hopefully the state D party is more useful but when I see what Sutton is taking for a stand I have to wonder. Republican or just like republican…..
Clyde is mostly right. The general perception is both the parties are corrupt however, nationally the dems have made a radical swing to the left and that has left the state dems dangling on their own trying to gain membership as their party calls for socialism, open borders killing babies and calls everyone else racist. Its a no win situation unless the dems turn their party back to what it once was.
That move to the “left” actually answers your thought in that we finally are embracing socialism. Capitalism has waved bye bye to us some decades ago. Our wages suck, our farm programs suck, everything sucks in this decadent capitalistic joke. The rich are doing well, very well, while we depend on the Bribes and the “getting by” of the titans benevolence. The Democrats are not turning their backs against the winds of the corruption of capitalism, rather they are finally turning their face to face the storm of needed change like the buffalo do.
What do we want? Healthcare for all, When do we want it? Now
What do we want? Sensible farm programs that do not enslave the producer
What do we want? Public education
What do we want? Infrastructure
What do we want? Social solidarity We want all this now
What do we want? Equality for all, in all corners of society, especially women,
jerry respects the women and does not fear them.
What do we want? For women to be in charge of themselves
Feel free to add on the socialist train. Capitalism is dead, you can see the stink.
OS
I agree that there are ridiculous positions that Dems support but there are similarly ridiculous positions that the R party support. I and most of America has little interest in making an issue out of gay leanings for example while this administration’s fixation on a wall is similarly foolish.
In general both party’s are far to the right of what was acceptable to society just a few decades ago and both support the 1% completely.
Interesting!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9UmdY0E8hU
I thought this was an article on VOTER REGISTRATION in SD – yet the only person with a comment on topic is myself [huge pat on my own back].
This is what’s wrong with SD – rurals are so damn dumb that they don’t even know how to stay on topic, or even be on topic for just 5 minutes.
Wrong SovietSargie … Dem’s are solid behind the message. More so now than in decades. The message is simple. SAVE USA! STOP TRUMP!
Here are five known issues Russian propagandists are trying to focus on for the next cycle.
1. socialism
2. open borders
3. labeling women’s rights as baby killing
4. racism
5. the Democratic Party is fractured
~ How could you possibly include all five Russian issues in one single blog post, SovSrg? Are you sleeping with Russian radio on, again? Hmmmmmm???
Porter is RIGHT ON THE MONEY!
Moreover, Russian conserva-trolls effing up global social media is yet another HUGE REASON to register to vote! You can only fight them in the voting booth! It’s time for non-voters to WAKE THE EFF UP!
SovietSargie says our Democratic Party is fractured? Now that’s some high level Putin projection. Truth is … Once the N.R.A. (as an organization) is indicted and is proven to have been compromised by Russian money, it will shake conservative politics to its very foundation. And this is no longer a far-fetched possibility.
I could not agree more. The chickens are coming home to roost. They ALWAYS, come back home to roost (except one straggler, or two).
Clyde, you offer the lazy false equivalency, which excuses voters from exercising their discernment.
Ridiculous positions? Democrats believe nothing as ridiculous as Republicans do.
Republicans like Kristi Noem, John Thune, and Mike Rounds all say Trumponomics is good for South Dakota while the farm economy sinks.
Republicans like Noem shrug at an Executive in Chief whose behavior would draw groundings and mouth-soapings if committed by our children.
Republicans like Noem brag about our pro-life state while somehow letting South Dakota slip to the the highest child-mortality rate in the nation.
Republicans like Noem tout our South Dakota values while our teens get knocked up at a higher rate than teens in California.
It’s as if South Dakota’s higher rates of Republican registration and voting are some sort of mass-hysterical wishful thinking: if we all just hang R’s around our necks and pray to Saint Ronnie, all the bad things will go away. Stop the magical thinking, South Dakota. Come back to the party that represents reality.
Regarding teen pregnancy: SD needs to lighten up on the anti=contraception, anti-Planned Parenthood policy, and pro-abstinence curriciculum. If only our legislators and school boards were as broad-minded about contraception for teens as they might be. And speaking of that, the newspapers could give us school board members’ REAL thoughts about such curriculum as climate change, contraception, evolution vs. intelligent design, etc. instead of just platitudes about money and educating being important.